From Nollywood to a President: 10 really big Nigerian Facebook Pages

Worldwide, Facebook has grown to become one of the most popular websites ever, due to its social networking tools and utilities, audience reach and its relevance to brands, celebrities and organisations. Over the past three years, Facebook has grown exponentially in Nigeria from less than 40,000 Nigerians on the network to over 2 million active members.

However, in a country where the penetration of Facebook to population is only 1.38 % and the penetration of Facebook to online population is just 4.78 %, we’re left hoping that the buzz will, sooner rather than later, break all over Nigeria. If Nigeria’s Facebook population grows at the current rate, there would be an estimated 4 500 000 active users in Nigeria by October 2011.

There is no doubt that it is building. Facebook users, especially brands and celebrities, have leveraged the potential opportunities that the platform provides to interact with millions of fans and build awareness for their products and services.

There’s no doubt that there are hundreds of great Nigerian-focused brands on Facebook doing exciting things on the platform. Since there’s absolutely no measure for “best”, I’ve decided to populate this list based on figures – the brands with the highest number of fans.

Interestingly, the most popular Nigerian pages on Facebook are celebrities, which makes sense since they naturally have more fans than anyone else.

Here’s the list of the 10 Most Popular Nigerian Facebook pages.

The Top 3

Goodluck Jonathan (315K+ fans)
When President Goodluck Jonathan announced in May 2010 that he was joining Facebook in order to interact with Nigerians, many people felt it was one of those promises that would never see the light of the day. True to his words, he joined Facebook on June 28 and in four months has become the most popular Nigerian on Facebook.

The page is updated almost on a daily basis and draws a lot of comments and likes. While I’m not sure that the President actively uses the platform, some user comments are actually read and responses provided when necessary.

Omotola (306K+ fans)

This Nollywood screen diva didn’t know that she had a Facebook Page (like most celebs) until very recently. From my findings, Omotola doesn’t manage the page herself as she’s been busy launching her second music album titled, Me Myself & Eyes. The page got a lot of traction during the movie premiere of IJE – The Journey, in which she had a leading role.

9ice (273K+ fans)

9ice is one of those musicians who became a celebrity overnight. His style of music sets him apart from his contemporaries. His popularity has also been seen on Facebook as fans prove their love and support for him despite his marital issues and a lingering ‘beef’ with Ruggedman.

The Next 7

Dbanj (128K+ fans) – A Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player.

Wande Coal (124K+ fans) – Popular Nigerian singer embroiled in a “naked picture” scandal on Twitter.

P-Square (114K+ fans) – Nigerian R&B duo composed of identical twin brothers Peter and Paul Okoye.

GTBank (112K fans) – The third biggest bank in Nigeria based in Victoria Island, Lagos.

BankyW (112K+ fans) – a Nigerian R&B artist.

DaGrin (108K+ fans) – Rising hip-hop star who died tragically in a car accident earlier this year.

Don Jazzy (106K+ fans) – Prolific music producer, singer and song writer.

A few contenders

Fela Durotoye (73K+ fans): A renowned nation building strategist and a highly sought after motivational speaker and corporate activist.

Always Nigeria (59K+ fans): The leading feminine sanitary pad in West Africa.

Raji Fashola (58K+ fans): Lagos State Governor.

NigeriansforNigeria (48K+ fans): “We believe in the simple premise that Nigeria’s future is up to Nigerians.”

Tuface Idibia (31K+ fans): Nigerian singer-songwriter, actor and record producer.

Top 5 Brands on Facebook

According to Facebakers.com, below are the top five facebook brands from Nigeria as at October 2010.

1. GTBank 112 215 +17.63%
2. Always Nigeria 59 111 0.00
3. MTN Project Fame West… 16 704 0.00
4. Samsung Mobile Nigeria 2 582 +35.94%
5. Sony Ericsson Nigeria 51 +15.69%